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Soccer Culture

This year’s marketing campaign emphasizes our relationship with the state of Colorado. In addition to our new alternate uniforms, which feature the distinctive blue, red and yellow of the Colorado flag, our 2013 marketing campaign is centered on the pride people have in this state. The taglines “State of Mind” and “Colorado For Life” can be seen on billboards and advertisements in the area, and the Colorado flag can be seen on all our uniforms, on our field before the game, and in virtually everything we do.

Earlier this year we took our jerseys on a mini-caravan to some iconic Colorado locations to kick off the marketing campaign as well as #RapidsJersey week. Now that the weather has changed, we took to the road again for another shoot and also to show the jerseys in a new light. Here’s a sneak peek. Be on the lookout for more visuals and as usual #Colorado4Life.

Rivalries in sports are fierce. Fans and teams from Boston and New York are pitted against one another across all major league sports (Revolution-Red Bulls, Celtics-Knicks, Bruins-Rangers and of course, Yankees-Red Sox). The teams don’t like each other; the fans don’t like each other; the rest of the country has an opinion on all of it.

But, in the wake of the Boston Marathon tragedy, the rivalry dissolved, revealing a deep amount of respect between the two cities. Fans laid down their differences, and the New England Revolution supporters and New York Red Bulls supporters marched together.

Yankees-Red Sox is one of the most heated rivalries in all of sports. It makes for exciting baseball when the two storied franchises meet. But when faced with adversity, the teams laid down their differences and the Yankees stood in support of the Red Sox.

Author Golden, in Memoirs of a Geisha, said “Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.” With that in mind, the show of strength and togetherness is nothing less than inspiring.

It might not be quite fair to appoint 2012 as the "Year of the Soccer Bar" in Denver, but it's definitely a year in which these establishments have stood out. And now there's word of another bar about to open.

In the downtown Denver area, soccer fans have been regulars at The British Bulldog, The Three Lions, and the Celtic Tavern, and other locations like Fado or GB's have also welcomed fans of the beautiful game.

The latest soccer bar, The Armoury (Arsenal fans will like the background of the name), is shooting to open in the ballpark neightborhood on New Years Eve at 2048 Larimer Street. There's also already talk that they, too, hope to one day bus fans to Rapids games at Dick's Sporting Goods Park as the other pubs did this past year.

The last time Rapids supporters groups Pid Army and Class VI interacted with the traveling supporters of the Portland Timbers - the Timbers Army - in Colorado, each were celebrating a 'first.'

It happened prior to the opening game of the 2011 season, when the Rapids fans were about to watch the MLS Cup winning side for the first time since the final, and the Timbers fans were about to watch their team make their MLS debut.

Now in their second season, we're not expecting the 500 or so Timbers fans that traveled last year, but the fans that are coming to Colorado will once again be hosted by the Pid Army and Class VI fans.

"As we had such a great time with them here and in Portland last year," said Pid Army chief Dave Cleland, "we will continue to prove that rival fans can get along great before and after the game but still be passionate about their respective teams inside the stadium."

The supporters of both teams will gather at the Celtic Tavern in downtown Denver Saturday and then take separate buses to Dick's Sporting Goods Park for the Rapids vs Timbers game (7 pm MT). The buses are expected to leave the bar at 4:30 pm, arriving at the stadium with plenty of time to tailgate.

Class VI and the Pid Army inform us that they will also be having their 3rd Annual Homebrew competition, cleverly called Pitch to Pint, during this tailgate. Fans of age will have a chance to sample Colorado-brewed beers and vote for a winner. All fans are welcome to join the 'No Fan Alone' tailgate, though $5 donations are happily appreciated to help pay for costs.

About 20-30 minutes after the game, the busses will return to the Celtic, where it's likely the festivities will continue. Often times, the Rapids Man of the Match also makes an appearance at this post-game party (as do some staff and other players).

Join Gatorade, MLS, and the soccer community in supporting young female athletes to stay in the game.

Did you know?

In 1971, one in 27 high school girls participated in sports.

In 2012, one in 2.5 high school girls play sports!

In 1972, Title IX gave women and men equal access to federally funded programs. That means your mother, your wife, your sister and even YOU have seen equal opportunities to be a young athlete.

However, while we have managed to gain young girls equal access to sports, they're still dropping out at twice the rate boys do by age 14.

We want to help change this trend.

Why?

A girl who participates in sports is more likely to get better grades and graduate high school with scholarships to college.

A girl who participates in sports is less likely to get involved in drugs.

A girl who participates in sports will have greater confidence and self-esteem keeping her from depression and eating disorders.

A girl who participates in sports is less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior or become pregnant.

How can you help?

Support the cause by changing your profile picture to your 14 year-old self (or a special female in your life like your daughter or wife) playing sports. Tweet about how playing sports helped you get to where you are today using the #KeepHerInTheGame hashtag. Most importantly, continue to encourage your daughter, granddaughter, niece, sister and friends to keep her in the game.

Like soccer fans around the world, our offices have been buzzing in the mornings with the sounds of the EURO 2012 Championship on various TVs. Friday afternoon, shortly after England defeated Sweden 3-2, there was another round of excitement in the air when we learned that the Colorado Rapids were represented at that match.

Emily Kilcoyne, our Manager of Group Sales, received the photo above from Rapids season ticket holder Haim Lensky. From left to right: Mike, Vicky, and Haim hold up the Rapids' MLS Champion flag at Olympic Stadium in Kyiv (Ukraine), with the Sweden-England scarf above.

"It's been a great experience," Haim wrote via email. "We met people from all over Europe and we have loved being at every game screaming and cheering for the teams."

Haim is from Russia and won the ticket lottery last year to attend the tournament. The family is of course supporting Russia, but also England, Spain, and Ukraine. And if you're ready to be jealous, read on...

The 2012 European Championship starts on Friday and long-time MLS partner ESPN will broadcast all the matches through their various outlets. We've set up a EURO Predictor Challenge Bracket through ESPN.com so that fans, staff, and players can go head-to-head in a just-for-fun contest.

Drew Moor, Andre Akpan, Tony Cascio, and Chris Sharpe have signed up, as has some members of the staff.

If you've been to a Rapids home game this year, you've likely looked up at the scoreboard and watched some of the videos the Game Entertainment crew produces. We'll be posting some of these on here throughout the summer - after they've aired in the stadium.